Boyd follows Bennett to Newcastle

Updated June 09, 2011 17:13:15

Dragons full-back Darius Boyd has ended speculation about his future, signing a four-year deal with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2012.

Boyd was widely tipped to follow master coach Wayne Bennett, whom he played under in Brisbane and at St George Illawarra, to Nathan Tinkler's stable at Newcastle.

The Queensland and Australian back signed a three-year contract with the Dragons after the 2008 season, following Bennett's departure from the Broncos.

The 23-year-old Boyd, who was named the NRL's full-back of the year last season, already has a premiership pedigree, having won it all with the Broncos in 2006 and the Dragons in 2010.

Boyd was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal in the 2010 grand final win over the Roosters and ran third in the Dally M medal tally behind Todd Carney and Robbie Farah.

Hunter Sports Group chief executive Troy Palmer said Boyd's addition to the Knights will "give the entire club as well as members and fans a great lift".

"The signing of a current international and premiership-winning player clearly highlights the enthusiasm of NRL players wanting to join the club and be part of our exciting future," he said in a statement.

"It is very important that we don't get in front of ourselves and continue to concentrate on our current job of a top eight semi-final position this year.

"The job that Rick Stone and the playing group have been doing each week has given fans the feeling that even better things are to come this year and that they are continuing to lay down a great platform for the future."

The Knights have added Kade Snowden and Timana Tahu to their ranks for the 2012 season and also re-signed skipper Kurt Gidley and New Zealand international Junior Sau.

Tags: nrl, wollongong-2500, newcastle-2300

First posted June 09, 2011 16:53:41

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Mateo fronts up to Newcastle defence

Published:Sunday, May 15, 2011 3:53 AEST

Feleti Mateo is tackled during the round 10 NRL match between the Newcastle Knights and the Warriors at Newcastle on May 15, 2011. The Warriors won the match 25-16.

Tags: sport, rugby-league, nrl, australia, nsw, newcastle-2300, new-zealand

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Newcastle Knights sign seven-time premiership coach Wayne Bennett

MARK COLVIN: The most successful coach in the National Rugby League has signed onto become the coach of the Newcastle Knights. Wayne Bennett has led two teams to seven premiership victories.

The Knights signed him on a four year contract just weeks after they agreed to sell the team to mining magnate Nathan Tinkler. Supporters of the privatisation say Bennett's signing vindicates the move to privatise the club.

Timothy McDonald reports.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Since winning their last premiership in 2001, the Knights have had their ups and downs, both on the field and off. At their worst, they've come dead last in the competition and they've faced serious financial difficulties as well.

Now they have a cashed-up new owner in mining magnate Nathan Tinkler, who has just signed the competition's most successful coach, Wayne Bennett. Even the man who stands to lose the most, the current coach Rick Stone, says Tinkler must be pleased.

RICK STONE: I think he's pretty excited, you know, and so he should be. You know, it's a big coup luring Wayne Bennett to Newcastle. I think if we look back even two or three years ago, trying to get Wayne Bennett to Newcastle to coach would have been you know a fair way away.

Himself and his clout and obviously his passion and drive for the team and the region have definitely helped bring that to fruition and good luck to him, mate. He's got his man and hopefully things can settle down. We can get back playing footy. He can coach Saints and then at the end of the year come across and hopefully do plenty of good stuff for our club.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Steve Crowe was part of the Knights' 1997 premiership winning side. He says a coach with such strong credentials will help the team keep its best players and lure new talent as well.

STEVE CROWE: There's an X-factor about certain characters and Wayne certainly has that. I think it is that he has a bit of magic about him. He's had success obviously. At the Broncos he won half a dozen premierships. He's backed it up again at a second club, St George.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Only a few weeks ago, Nathan Tinkler's plan to buy the Knights looked like it might fall through. Now supporters of the plan say that signing the best coach in the game vindicates the decision to privatise the team.

Michael Hagan was the team's coach in 2001, when the Knights won their last premiership.

MICHAEL HAGAN: To have the signature now of the game's best coach in the space of two weeks is a remarkable achievement and I guess says a bit about what the Nathan Tinkler sports group can deliver.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Do you think that without someone like Nathan Tinkler coming on board that this would have ever happened?

MICHAEL HAGAN: No, I think even in the last two or three weeks before the Tinkler sports group came along, you wouldn't have even had the opportunity to go and talk to a person like Wayne Bennett because you wouldn't have been in the ballpark.

So the fact that they had the opportunity to talk him in the first place and then to be successful in persuading him to come to Newcastle when he probably had some very firm offers to consider elsewhere says a fair bit about the influence that Nathan Tinkler has and I guess how serious he is about trying to get the Knights back as a premier force in the NRL.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Michael Hagan says traditional streams of revenue for NRL teams aren't as strong as they once were and so many teams have looked elsewhere for at other options.

MICHAEL HAGAN: South Sydney have adopted privatisation model with Russell Crowe. Max Delmege has had a large share of interest in the Manly Sea Eagles and they achieved quite a bit in 2008 as a direct result of that.

So I think it's certainly more common and I guess it's no secret that licensed clubs are under pressure with poker machine taxes and smoking laws that have really eaten into their turnover and profits. So you know this type of privatised model is certainly, I think, going to be more common than not as the benefits or the investment you can make away from just player salaries is certainly the real advantage.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Wayne Bennett will take up the reins in Newcastle in November. Until then he'll coach St George Illawarra, another underperforming team he helped to revive.

MARK COLVIN: Timothy McDonald.

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Newcastle fans rejoice as Bennett signs with Knights

The most in-demand coach in rugby league, Wayne Bennett, has signed on the dotted line to spend four years with the Newcastle Knights. The master coach, who's won seven premierships, says his decision was swayed by the passion and vision of the club's new owner, Nathan Tinkler.

Once Bennett declared his intention to leave the Dragons at the end of this year, speculation was rife about which club he'd choose.

After the 61-year-old decided not to return to Brisbane, Souths and the Knights were considered the front-runners, and it's believed he knocked back a big-money offer from the Rabbitohs to make the move to Newcastle.

In a statement released by the Tinkler Sports Group, Bennett said his decision was based on the vision and passion of Nathan Tinkler, combined with the lifestyle offered by Newcastle and the Hunter.

He said when he sat down with the Knights' new owner he was struck by Tinkler's passion for, and knowledge of, rugby league.

"Private ownership appeals to me, I like it," Bennett says.

"This guy wants to take Newcastle to another level.

"He wants our game to capture the imagination of the Hunter like never before, for the Knights to be the benchmark of rugby league in this country.

"That is the type of challenge that appeals to me.

"The Knights have already won two premierships and have been a great club despite struggling with their finances, and that's where Nathan Tinkler comes in."

Bennett added that the country NSW lifestyle appeals to him, after living happily in Wollongong while coaching the Dragons and in Queanbeyan with the Raiders in 1987.

As for current Knights' coach Rick Stone, Bennett hopes he will remain at the club so the pair can work together.

Tinkler Sports Group executive chairman, Ken Edwards, says the news is a massive win for the community and the Knights.

"This is a major step for the region as we continue to build community pride and above all, further expand the club's existing policy to provide a pathway for all juniors to have the opportunity to play for the Knights," he says.

"What excites everyone at the club is Wayne's commitment to work closely with the Newcastle Rugby League, to ensure that a professional structure is in place for young player development and a full program for local coaches.

"This is a genuine revolution for everyone involved in rugby league, from Newcastle up to the Queensland border."

The CEO of the Tinkler Sports Group, Troy Palmer, praised the job being done by the Knights' current head coach, Rick Stone.

"It is business as usual, and Rick and his team will be given everything needed to achieve the very best possible outcome for the Knights this season," Troy says.

"Rick has done and is doing an outstanding job with the NRL team, and has developed a strong culture throughout the club.

"Wayne will sit down with Rick in the near future to discuss an ongoing relationship."

Wayne Bennett will begin his stint as head coach of the Newcastle Knights on November 1 this year.

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